Association between vision impairment and cognitive decline in older adults with stroke: Health and Retirement Study

Stroke survivors may experience multiple residual symptoms post-stroke, including vision impairment (VI) and cognitive decline. Prior studies have shown that VI is associated with cognitive decline, but have not evaluated the contribution of VI to post-stroke cognitive changes. We used data from four waves (2010-2016) of the Health and Retirement Study to investigate the cognitive trajectories of stroke survivors with and without VI. Vision (excellent-very good[ref], good, fair-poor) and stroke diagnosis were self-reported. Cognition was defined using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. Regression was used to model the association between vision and change in cognitive function, adjusting for confounders. The final sample included 1,439 stroke survivors and the average follow-up time was 4.1 years. Fair-poor overall (B = -1.30, p < 0.01), near (B = -1.53, p < 0.001), and distance (B = -1.27, p < 0.001) vision were associated with significantly lower baseline cognitive function. VI was not associated with the rate of cognitive decline. Future research should determine whether specific types of VI potentiate the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in stroke survivors.